Mechanism for assorting eyelets or similar articles.



M. H. PEARSON & A. B. JERRAM. MECHANISM FOR ASSORTING EYELETS 0R SIMILARARTICLES;

A PPLIOATION FILED DEC, 21, 1904.

Patented Jan. 7, 1913.

v2 BHEBTSSHEET 1.

M. H. PEARSON & A. E. JBRRAM. MECHANISM FOR Asso wme EYELETS 0R SIMILARARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED DISC. 21, 1904.

Patented 52111.7, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 W W IF I/J/F/VESSES.

Wit

MARSHALL HENRY PEARSON AND ARTHUR. ERNEST LAND, ASSIGNOFS T0. UNITEDSHOE MACHINERY JERRAM, OF LEICESTER, ENG- COMPANY, 01 PATERSON, NEW

JERSEY, CORFORATIGN OF NEW JERSEY- MECHANISM FUR ASSOBTING EYELE TS RSIMILAR ARTICLES.

Specification ofv Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. t, 1913.

Application filed December 21, 1904. Serial Ito/37,881

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, MARSHALL HENRY PEARSONand ARTHUR Ennnsr JERRAM, both subjects of the King of Great Britain,re-

siding at Leicester, in the county of Leicester, England, have inventedcertain Imtion, like reference characters on the draw-' ings indicatinglike parts in the several figures.

lhis invention relates to apparatus for separating eyelets, headedrivets, or similar articles, from-a mass and delivering them to araceway which guides them into position to be operated on, and theobject of this invention is to provide improved means for rapidly andaccurately separating anddelivering eyelets or similar articles from. amass without marring or damaging them.

To this end eyelets or similar rticlesare placed on a supporting memberwhich 13' actuated for causing the eyelets to move therefrom and passunder a gaging device. Preferably the supporting member is moved in theplane of its surface about a center so as to transmit rotary movement tothe eyelets thereon and generate within. thema centrifugal tendency totravel away from said center and pass under the gaging device, which isso arranged that it permits the passage thereunder of only such eyeletsas stand in either of two positions. The eyelets which pass under thegaging device move into contact with a guide rail that is provided withmeans for assorting the eyelets which stand in one position from theeyelets which stand ,in the other position, and in the embodiment of ourlnvention herem shown means are.

provided for carrying back to the hopper the eyelets which, stand in oneof said positions.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a hopper and anassorting mechanism embodying the features of our inven-.

tion; Fig, 2 is aplan view of the hopper and the mechanism shown in Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on the line w ag of Fig. *2; Fig. 4is a detail perspective view of the mechanism for asserting thedifferently positioned eyelets, and for guiding them indifierentdirections; Fig. 5 is a'sectional view of the raceway taken on the'lineof Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a detail view, 1n side elevation, of themechanism for carrying eyelets from the guide rails back ,to

the hopper.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form ofour-invention, 2 designates the cylindrical wall of the hopper which isfastened by screws 4: to the head 6 of an eyeleting machine. The bottomof the hopper comprises a disk or article supporting member 8 which isadapted to rotate in a horizontal plane in a circular 'guideway formedin the head of the machine, so as to transmit movement to eyeletssupported thereon for generating with in them a centrifugal tendency totravel away from the center of rotation of the disk. Said disk isprovided with a downwardly projecting hub 10 which is rotatably mountedin a bearing in the head 6, and the upper surface of the; disk isrecessed, as shown in Fig. 3, to receive a ring 12 of'vulcanized fiberor some such material ofa high coeflicient of friction, which will causethe eyelets to partake of the rotaryaction of the disk. Preferably thedisk is formed of metal or some other hard material so that the portionof said disk which is contiguous to the wall of the hopper will have alow coeflicient of friction, the center of the disk being cone shaped,as shown in Fig. 3, for the purpose'of causing eyelets which mightotherwise lie at the center of the disk to slide by gravity outwardlywhere they may develop a greater centrifugal tendency. In order that theupper surface of the disk may have a true working bearin withthe loweredge of the wall of the-hopper, said disk is adapted to be adjustedvertically, the hub 10 having a screw-threaded bore which receives a pin20 having at its lower end a ball-and-socket bearing 22 in the head 6 ofthe machine, so that by turning said pin the disk will be movedrelatively to the wall.2 of the hopper, the pin being locke ir adjustedposition by a nut 24:. The disk or article supporting member 8 may berotated in any convenient manner, for instance by a driven shaft 14having a pinion 16 which meshes with an internal gear 18.fastened to thedisk, asrshown in Figs. 2 and 3.

"The walLof' the'hopper is provided with a gilideway which receives agageplate- 26 having its lower edge parallel to the upper which, asshown in Fig. 3,'extends beneathsaid plate, is less than the diameter ofthe head of an eyelet and is slightly greater. than the length of aneyelet as measured from the top of its head to the end of its I barrel,so that'only those eyelets can .pass under the gage plate which standeither on their heads or on the ends of their barrels.

The object of having that portion of the disk which is contiguous to thewall of the hopper formed of some hard material is to I prevent damagingthe eyelets which do not standeither on their heads or on the ends oftheir barrels, but which have their barrel portions projecting slightlyunder the gage plate. If that portion of the disk which extends underthe gage plate were formed of material having a high coeflicientoffrietion, eyelets so-positioned would be likely to adhere to the diskand be jammed under said gage plate, thereby crushing the eyelet andabrading the'surface of the disk.

The gage plate can be adjusted vertically to-vary the distance betweenits lower .edge and the upper'surtace of the disk to provide for eyeletsof dit'ierentsizes by the tollow in'g mechanism: It pin 28 is screwed orotherwise fixed in the gage plate, and rotatably mounted on said pinisan adjusting device 30 having an eccentric boss 32 rotatably andeccentrically carried in a disk 34 which is itself rotatable in anoffset 3 of the wall of the hopper. By turning the adjusting' device 30the action of the two eccentrics gives' a vertical movement to the gageplate, which insures an exact adjustment of the lower edge thereofrelatively to the upper surface of the disk. The end of the pin 28 ,isscrew-threaded and is provided with a lock nut 36 which preventsaccidental displacement of the gage plate, theadjusting device 30 beingprovided with an index which cooperates with a mark on the wall of thehopper to indicate the position of the gage plate relatively tothe disk.

-A guide rail 40 is provided for engaging the eyelets as they pass underthe gage plate,

- and said rail, for a portion of its length, ex-

tends circumferentially to the wall of the hopper. Said rail has anundercut groove 41, shown in Fig. 3, which is adapted to receive theflanged portion of the heads of the eyelets C which pass under the gageplate standing on their heads, and the height or thickness of said railis less than the length of the barrel of an eyelet, so that the upperedge of said rail will be engaged by the fl nged portion of the headsoi" the eyelets D whim er-s under the gage plate standing on and 4-. Inthe embodiment of'our invention herein shown the eyelets D which passunder the gage plate standing on the ends of their barrels are carriedback to the hopper, and

hereinafter such eyelete will be referred to as incorrectly. positionedeyelets to distinguish them from the correctly positioned eyelets Cwhich pass under the gage plate standing on their heads and which areguided down the raceway into position to be operated upon.. It will beunderstood, however, that if-it, is desired to have the eyelets stand inthe reverse positionwhen they arrive in position to be operated on, the

eyelets which pass under the gage plate standing on the ends of theirbarrels may be guided into position to be operated on and those whichpass under said plate standing on their heads may be carried back to thehopper without departing from. the scope ot'my invention, and, also,that the eyelets may pass under the gage plate lying fiat instead ofupright in case the..eyelets being operated on have barrels which are ofgreater length than the Width of their heads. It will be apparent from aconsideration of the above that this construction actsv to separateeyelets occupying the correct or desired position from the mass ofeyelets in the hopper by a plurality of steps,'in each of which sucheyelets as occupy any of a certain number of possible positions areseparated from the other eyeletswith which they are asso-' ciated at thetime.

' parallel to rail 40 is provided with an undercut groove and isfastened 'tothe hopper,

said rails extending slightly under the gage plate, as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 2. Auxiliary rails 40 and 44, forming continuat-ions ottheguide rails 40 and 44, are formed integral with the raceway 46, whichguides the correctly positioned eyelets into position to be operatedupon, and said auxiliary rails are adapted to be engaged by the flangedportion of the'heads of the incorrectly positioned eyelets D and to'guide them to the device which carries them back to the hopper. Theraceway 46 is detachably connected to the head of the machine by a pin48, so.that said raceway and the auxiliary rails 40 and 44 may be easilyreplaced by others of different size or form to accommodate eyelets ofdifferent size. The raceway 46 is provided with undercut grooves inalinement with the undercut grooves in the guide rails iO and 44, sothat the correctly positioned eyelets (I will pass from the guide railsdown the raceway 46 and the incorrectly positioned eyelets D will passdown the auxiliary rails 40 and 44' to a pocket 50 on the end of atipping arm 52, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The tipping arm 52 iscontimwl between friction plates 54 and 56 on the end of a horizontalrock shaft 58 mounted in the head of the maconnects said arm 60 withsuitable actuatmg mechanism which intermittently rocks said shaft forelevating the tipping arm, so

that the incorrectly positioned eyelets in the pocket 50 will flow backinto the hopper through an opening '64 in the wall thereof. The extentof movement of the tipping arm 52'is determined by a stationary stop 66adapted to engage with lugs 68 and 69 on said arm when the pocket 50 ispositioned in alinement with the auxiliary rails or opposite the opening64 in the wall of the hopper. A retaining detent 70, preferably formedof wire, is fastened by a screw" 72 to the race- Way 46 and is engagedand held depressed by the pocket 50 when it is in alinement with 20;"

the end of the guide rails, so as to leave a clear passage for theeyelets to pass down said rails.

In order that the operator may readily examine theopening beneath thegageuplate, the guide rail 40 is pivotally connected by a bolt 41 to alug 43 on the wall of the hopper, and a spring-controlled plunger i5which is confined in an offset 47 on the wall of the hopper engages ashoulder 49 on the end of said rail and holds it normally in operativeposition in alinement with the rail 40. An adjusting screw 51 isthreaded in a lug on the guide rail 40 and bears against the wall of thehopper, thereby enabling said rail to be accurately positionedrelatively to the auxiliary rail 40', said screw also acting as a handlefor swinging the rail on its pivot. The offset 47 on the wall ofv thehopper is provided with a pas sageway, shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1and 2, which leads from the hopper, so that eyelets can be swept downsaid passageway when it is-desired to empty the hopper quickly. movablymounted in the wall of the hopper for closing the end of saidpassageway, said slide being arranged to be raised and lowcred at thewill of the operator by a pin 86 passing through a slot in the wall ofthe hopper and prcferahl y screwed into the slide 82, so as to enablesaid slide to be locked in any desired position.

The assorting device hereinabove described possesses a marked advantageover those in which a ribbed plate or casing is rotated to agitate thearticles. In those devices a row of eyelets or the like frequentlycollects and catches between the ports and the ribs, resulting in thedistortion of one or more eyelets which are then likely to stick in theraceway. In the present improved construct-ion, however, the articlesare not likely to become ammed and scratched during the time they remainin the hopper, for,

as already explained, the walls and bottom face, said gage being soconstructed and ar- As shown in Fig. 2, a slide 82 is of the hopper aresmooth and continuous and in the operation of the device the articlesare carried around on the rotating bottom plate being meantime gentlyurged outwardly by centrifugal force.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is z 1. In mechanism forassorting articles, a hopper having an opening in its wall, a supportingmember therein having a substantially continuous supporting surfaceconstructed and arranged to cause the free passage of articles to theopening in the wall of said hopper, means for moving said member in theplane ofsaid surface for causing articles to pass therefrom, and a gageunder which the articles pass in leaving said surranged as to permit thearticles to pass in 85 either of two predetermined positions.

' 2. In mechanism for assorting articles, a hopper, a supporting membertherein constructed and arranged to cause the free passage of articlesto the wall of said hopper and havinga smooth surface, means for movingsaid member in a horizontal plane for causing articles to passtherefrom, and a gage under which the articles are carried by saidsurface during the movement of the supporting member.

3; In mechanism for asserting eyelets, a hopper having an unobstructedinner surface, an eyelet supporting member therein constructed andarranged to.cause the free 109 passage of eyelets to the wall of saidhopper, means for rotating said member always in one direction togenerate frictionally a centrifugal tendency in the eyelet-s supportedthereon for causing them to move from said member, and a wall, having anopening through which the eyelets pass in leaving said supportingmember.

a. In mechanism for a ssorting eyelets, a

hopper, an eyelet supporting member there- 11o in constructed andarranged to cause the free passage of eyelets to the wall of saidhopper, means for actuating said member to cause eyelets to movecentrifugally therefrom, and a gage arranged to permit the passagethereunder of eyelets which. stand in either of two positions.

5. In mechanism for assorting articles, a hopper, a supporting memberforming the bottom of the hopper, an adjustable gage plate independentof said member, and means for rotating said member to cause the articlesto move centrifugally under the gag plate.

6. 'In mechanism for assorting eyelets, an eyelet supporting member,means for actuating said member to cause eyelets to move therefrom, andmeans separate from the supporting member for assorting the eyeletswhich pass from said member, whereby eyelets which stand in similarpositionsare grouped together.

-' 7. In mechanism for assorting eyelets, a hopper for containing a massof eyelets, means for agitating said'mass to cause singleeyelets toseparate therefrom, a wall having an opening to permit the passagetherethrough of .eyelets which stand in either of two positions, andmeans for assorting the eyelets which stand in one o- -sition from thosewhich stand-in the ot er position.

8. In mechanism for assorting eyelets, an

' which stand either on their heads or-on the ends of their barrels, andmeans for assorting the eyelets which stand in one position from thosewhich standin the other position.

hopper for; cpnt'aining a mass of eyelets, means for .agltatingsaid massfor causing single eyelets to separate therefrom, a wall having vanopening to permit the passage therethrough of eyelets which stand ineither of two positions, means for assortihg the eyelets which stand in'one position from those which stand in the other position, and meansfor carrying back to'v the hopper the eyelets whichs'tandin one of saidpositions.

11. In mechanism for assorting eyelets, a hopper having a, wall, vand'aneyelet supporting member constructed and arranged to cause the free.passage of eyelets to said wall, said member comprising a rotating diskforming the 'bottom'of the hopper and having a portion of its surface,formed of material having a high coefficient of-friction, said wallhaving an opening through which the eyelets pass in leaving said disk.

12. .In' mechanism for asso-rting eyelets, a-

hopper havinga wall, a rotating disk forming the bottom of the hopperand having a portion of its surface formed of material v having a highcoeflicient of friction, and'a mit the passage thereunder of eyeletswhich portion of its surface formed of material having a low coeificientof friction, and a gage contiguous to that portion of the disk which isformed of material having a low coeiiicient of friction and arranged toperstand in an upright position.

, 10. In mechanism for asserting eyelets; a

13. In mechanism for assorting eyelets, a

hopper for containing a mass of eyelets, means for separating singleeyelets from said mass, a gage arranged to permit the passage thereunderof eyelets which stand 'either on their heads or on the ends of theirgroove for receiving the flanged-portion of the heads of the eyeletswhich pass under the gage standing on their heads, the upper edge ofsaidrail being adapted to be engaged by the flanged portion-of the headsof the eyelets which pass under said gage standing on the ends of theirbarrels. 14. .In mechanism for assorting eyelets, a

hopper for containing a mass of eyelets, means for separating eyeletsfrom said mass,

a gaging device arrhnged to permit the passage thereunder of eyelet-sstanding in upright positions, a guide rail pivotally connected to thehopper and arranged to assort incorrectly positioned;eyelets fromcorrectly positioned eyelets, an auxiliary rail communicating with saidguide rail,and means for effecting relative adjustment of said rails.w 1

; 15. In mechanism for assorting eyelets, an

passage thereunder of eyelets standing in" upright positions, means forassorting the incorrectly positioned eyelets. from the correctlypositioned eyelets, rails communicat- 'ing with said asserting means,and a raceway for guiding the differently positioned eyeletsrespectively, in different directions, a

device having a pocket which stands normally in alinement with saidrails to receive eyelets passing therefrom, and means for actuatingsaid/device to carry eyelets said rails back to the hopper.

16. In mechanism for assorting eyelets, a hopper for containing .a massof eyelets, means for separating single eyelets from said mass, a gagingdevice arranged to permit the passage thereunder of eyelets which fromstand in an upright position, a guide rail having means for assortmg theincorrectly positioned eyelets from the correctly positioned eyelets,and a'raceway and continuation rails adapted to cooperate with the guiderail and formed independently thereof.

.17. In mechanismvfor assorting eyelets, a hopper for containing a massof eyelets, means for agitating said mass to cause eye- 'letsto separatetherefrom, means for assorting incorrectly positioned eyelets fromcorrectly positioned eyelets, rails and a racewayfor' guiding thedifferently positioned eyelets respectively in different directions, adevice for carrying eyelets from the end of the rails backto thehopper,"and means for preventing the escape of eyelets from the railswhen said device is being operated.

1b.; In a; mechanism for assorting eyelets,

step being returned to said receptacle.

19. In a mecha'nismfor assorting eyelets, the combination with areceptacle to receive eyeletspof means for assorting the eyeletscontained in said receptacle and removing the eyelets therefrom inpredetermined position, said means acting 1n a plurality of steps ineach of which steps such eyelets as occupy any of 'a certain number ofpossible positions. are separated from the other eyelets with which theyare associated at the time, the number of possible posit-ions occupiedby the eyelets before the separation being greater than the number ofpossible positions of those that are removed, and means for returningeyelets discarded at other than the first step to said receptacle.

20. In'mechanism for asserting articles, a.

hopper having a recessed wall, means for causing articles within saidhopper to approach said recess, and a guide rail pivoted adjacent tosaid hopper and normally maintained in the recess in the wall of thehopper.

21. In mechanism for assortin articles,

the combination with a raceway, of a hopperhavingan aperture the lowersurface of which mergesinto the end of the raceway,

surface of the plate, and a wall adjacent to said plate having" anaperture under which.

said plate extcn s and through which eyelets or the like lying on theplate may pass only when properly. positioned, the wall serving toretain upon the plate such eyelets as fail to pass through saidaperture.

23. In mechanism for assorting articles, the combination with horizontalrotary plate adapted to engage eyelets by friction only, the platesupper surface, inclined downwardly beyond theplates margin, and a wallprovided with an aperture above the surface of the plate adapted toallow eyelets on the plate to passwhen properly positioned, a portion ofthe wall serving to re tain the eyelets upon the plate until they passthrough the aperture.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARSHALL HENRY PEARSON. ARTHUR ERNEST JERRAM.

Witnesses ARTHUR HOPKINS, GRACE HOLMES,

of a raceway adjacentto a portion of"

